Ground Loops in Mountain Home, Arkansas, Geothermal Applications

October 24, 2017

You’ve just gotten or are mulling over getting a a new heating and cooling system. Maybe you’re considering a new Geothermal HVAC. Whatever the case, you probably want to know a little bit more about how geothermal works.

Geothermal HVACs variously cool and heat your home by extracting ground temperature. This is possible because of an underground system called a geothermal ground loop.

It works when antifreeze fluid travels through these plastic pipes to get heat effectively and efficiently up to a heat pump in your house.

Typically used are four different sorts of loops: Open Loop, Pond Loop, Horizontal Loop and Vertical Loop. These fall into one of two different categories: either they’re open loop systems or closed loop systems. The right system for your house is determined by the specific building and the property on which it sits. Home systems mostly use vertical or horizontal loops.

Below are further explanations of each kind of ground loop.

Closed systems, which consist of vertical, horizontal, and pond loops, continuously move water through them.

Vertical ground loops are used typically in residences because, unlike horizontal loops, they don’t take up a lot of space. They’re positioned by drilling small-diameter holes in the ground that extend 100-400 feet deep. Then pipes are driven into the holes and connected under ground to form the vertical loop. Next, extra pipes are attached that channel fluid to the indoor system to transfer the desired temperature from the ground.

A horizontal loop system has to have significantly more space but usually costs less because it just uses 2 straight pipes inserted 6 inches down in the ground over an area of ¼ to ¾ acre.

If you want a pond loop system, you plainly must be near a pond, lake, pond, or well. Coils are installed vertically and secured to the bottom of the water source. Water is then transported through more pipes underground to a pump, where the heat is pulled out and cool water is returned to the pond. That said, in order for this system to work, the water can not be acidic or else pipes will erode and filters will have to be replaced often.

The major difference between open and closed looped systems is the open loop’s need for a sufficient source of groundwater, a well or a pond, for instance. From there, it directly pumps water into the heat pump unit to be used in heating and cooling your dwelling or other structure.

Used water is taken care of in one of two ways: through surface drainage or water re-injection. In returning the water back to the earth, it is important to note that there is no pollution generated. The only difference in water that’s processed through a geothermal heat pump is a modest change in temperature.

Prior to installing an open loop system, it is critical to know whether a well or pond has enough water to power your geothermal heat pump, and that it won’t use up a neighbor’s well source. Make sure you check with your local contractor on whether there’s enough water in the vicinity to go ahead with installing an open loop geothermal heating system.

Custom Heating & Cooling Inc. has provided Mountain Home geothermal heating and cooling solutions for many years. We proudly offer Mountain Home WaterFurnace geothermal systems and stand behind our quality work and products. Call us at Custom Heating & Cooling Inc. today. We are ready to bring you into the WaterFurnace Mountain Home geothermal family.